musician profile

James Curley began writing songs in the mid-70s in his
native Philadelphia, influenced mainly by trips to the
Philadelphia Folk Festival and to local clubs like The
Main Point, Grendel's Lair and others. He appeared as
a solo songwriter back then, opening locally for other
acoustic artists of the day, including Artie Traum and
Lou London.

Leaving Philadelphia, James played in Denver, Boulder,
Eugene and other areas and eventually wound up in
Houston, where he was heavily influenced by the Texas
songwriter scene there at the time. Moving to Austin
in 1979, he immersed himself deeper in the local
songwriting scene and performed in venues there until
moving to Chicago several years later.

Taking a hiatus from music from 1987 until 1997 to
raise a family and start a small business, James took
up songwriting with earnest again, and released his
first CD - Tom's Cafe - in 2002, Several tracks
continue to get modest airplay on indie, folk and
college radio stations, as well as having been synced
to film and cable television shows. The CD was
produced by guitarist Larry Clyman (Big Shoulders, The
Otters, Lonnie Brooks Band) and featured performances
from some of James' musical friends like Nancy Walker
and Sue Demel (Sons of the Never Wrong), Jay Sebastian
(Twang Bang) and others.

In 2007, James released his 2nd CD - Manufactured
Meaning - again working with Larry Clyman. Larry had
moved to upstate New York, and James collaborated
there with local musicians like Tony Markellis (David
Bromberg Band) and Rick Rourke (Lost Wages) to produce
the record. Several songs from the record, especially
Lay Down Big Easy - a lament for the post-Katrina
reality of New Orleans - continue to receive radio
airplay. Currently, James is working on his third CD
with John Abbey of Chicago's Kingsize Recording
producing; expected release date is Sept 2012.

James is known for spirited live shows. He plays often
in selected venues in Chicago where he recently opened
shows for recording artists Ellis Paul, Patty Larkin
and Sons of the Never Wrong.